In Bristol and East Hartford, lines stretched into the hallways, the potential registrants a collection of young and old.

"I've been registrar in four presidential elections and I've never seen anything like it," said Eileen Horan, West Hartford's Democratic registrar.

About 1,500 people came to town hall Tuesday to register, Horan

said. Some were waiting when the registrars arrived at 8:15 a.m. and the last of the long line was being sworn in about 12 hours later.

Listening to the new voters, Horan said she got the clear message that many were registering because of their concerns about the economy.

Selma Kaufman, the town's Republican registrar, said most of the new voters registered as unaffiliated and many were young. Kaufman said she noticed many birth dates in the 1960s.

In Manchester, Democratic Registrar Herb Stevenson said his office registered more than 1,200 people Tuesday.

"During the last eight working days, we probably made over 3,000 new voters," he said. During the same eight-day period for 1988, during the past presidential election, 1,100 people registered to vote.

"It's tripled," he said. "There's tremendous interest. I think the debates have caused a greater interest in government. People are showing a negative attitude toward government. They want to participate more than in the past."

He said he has seen many people under 30 register. "Many, many first-time registrants, more than I've seen in a long time," he said.

State residents who turn 18, move to a new town or become a U.S. citizen before Election Day may still register until 11 a.m. Nov. 2. Prospective voters must bring some form of identification, such as a driver's license, that has a current address.

A squad of 15 volunteers helped the Enfield registrars deal with the steady flow and keep the lines from getting long.

Few people anywhere complained about the wait.

"I'm exhausted, but I would rather do this than filing," said Joan Rivard, a Somers registrar. "The whole idea is to get people to vote."

There were, however, a few who were tested beyond the limits of their patience.

Dick Kostecki, who lingered in the rear of a line of about 50 people in New Britain, gave up after 15 minutes.

"It's not that important," Kostecki replied. "I don't like any of the candidates anyway."